The way people use residential properties short term is changing. Websites like Airbnb, OneFineStay, and Gumtree have cropped up offering accommodations for people across the world through other people offering their own properties to use, whether that’s a room for a night like what people may imagine a traditional bed and breakfast to be or through using the whole property for a few weeks’ holiday and it becoming more of a hostel or holiday use.

Websites like these work on trust and self-policing, similar to eBay in that users have profiles and reviews that they will want to protect and develop for future use and therefore will behave themselves accordingly. Other times it’s more offline and friends-of-friends or people within a similar...

When managing property, falling temperatures below freezing in the winter time brings a host of issues that aren’t as obvious or essential in milder times, and these are ones to ideally be aware of ahead of time.

They have to do with the physical fabric of the property as you would expect from the extreme weather conditions; however, you need to check the paperwork to confirm any liabilities. Any lease agreement or insurance obligations are two obvious ones, although others such as terms and conditions with contractors and arrangements with adjacent owners/occupiers should be considered also.

In terms of these physical issues to be aware of, here are three main types:

1. Snow and Ice on the Ground Causing Slips

Property Management is unfortunately not often fully understood, not only in terms of what it actually includes but also the real value it brings to property. Whether you own or rent the property, whether it’s big or small, and no matter what type of property it is, it’s just not as simple as taking the initial rent or cost or value at face value and assuming that’s it.

There are going to be those other hidden issues and nasty surprises that will crop up and could put a spanner in the works so to speak. And although when the economy and property market are going well these issues may not be so relevant, when they aren’t, as in the case of the last seven years, then you tend to see these issues crop up time and time again. Landlords and...

Here are various blog resources related to the rent that is paid at properties, whether you're a landlord receiving, tenant paying, or middle-man managing. Right through from how to correctly charge and collect to how it needs to change over time, this is often the most important factor to managing let properties, and includes simular variations such as licence fees.

Here are variousblog resources related to non-rent monies and payments, for example service charges, fees, and other costs and charges. These can be directly charged or hidden away, and are important to know what you may have to pay or might be able to charge another property interest for.

Here are variousblog resources related to the insurance of properties, ranging from the main building cover to ancillary ones like contents. Whether it's the premium to pay or the policy to correctly arrange, these help explain what's needed from the perspective of different property interests.

Here are variousblog resources related to all the different property interests, from landlords & tenants, to investors & occupiers, to all other third-party interests. These cover general factors to consider for a particular interest, to more detailed issues to resolve for a particular course of action.

Here are variousblog resources related to the sales & lettings of a property, and all related transactions. Whether you're involved in these directly yourself, or you're working with other sales/letting agents and interests, these help highlight important property managemnet factors to consider.

Here are various blog resources related to all forms of leases, titles, and legal documentation involved with property interests. Whether a straight forward lease agreement or complicated legal documentation, here is help to understand what you're trying to achieve and then practically how to easily do this.

Here are variousblog resources related to all the taxes involved with property interests, from VAT and SDLT, to income and capital gains, to rates and council tax. These will help you work alongside other accounting and tax advisors to make sure you cover all bases to reduce your overall tax liabilities.

Here are various blog resources related to the services and compliance at a property. These range from say your fire and health and safety compliance, through to services like cleaning and utilitities. These resources help provide an overview of each area without getting too technical, so you can plan it all in at the right time and best cost.

Here are variousblog resources related to any other general subjects involved with properties and their interests. So whether it's the basics of property management, or more specific property issues and queries that don't naturally fall in the other categories, you'll find them all here.

Here are various blog resources related to the condition of a property and any repairs and alterations required, with sub categories of Condition and Repairs. Whether it's a reactive roof repair, pro-active maintenance plan, or carefully-chosen contractor - these help explain how to effectively keep properties in the right condition.